FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The Institute on Disabilities is pleased to introduce the first issue of our quarterly update. The purpose of this update is to highlight some of our major accomplishments and planned events of our very talented and very busy staff. Hopefully, you will have a glimpse of the important work that we are doing with and on behalf of people with disabilities and families in Pennsylvania.

Enjoy!

Diane Nelson Bryen, Ph.D.

RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Competence and Confidence: Partners in Policymaking (C2P2) graduated its 11th class on Saturday, April 26, 2003. This year's class was held in Plymouth Meeting and 27 participants graduated. The class was comprised of adults with disabilities, family members of young children with disabilities and a university graduate student. This leadership development program consists of 128 hours of instruction conducted by a national faculty. Participants also completed a community action project with the support of an identified community leader. Funding for this program is provided by the Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council.

RESEARCH

Statewide Family Support Surveys
The Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council, the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University and United Cerebral Palsy of PA are collaborating on a Family Support Project funded by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The goal of this project is to expand the current system of supports to families and create a comprehensive family support program for all citizens with disabilities in Pennsylvania. Celia Feinstein and Robin Levine are currently conducting a statewide survey about family support services in order to identify service or service eligibility gaps, identify promising practice, make recommendations for system change and capacity building, and to determine individual and family satisfaction.

Project Frametalker
Emily Hurley, Kevin Cohen, and Allison Carey at the Institute on Disabilities, in collaboration with Jeff Higginbotham, PhD., at the State University of New York at Buffalo; David Wilkins, PhD., at Center for Aphasia and Related Disorders; and Enkidu Research, Inc., are looking into the effectiveness of a newly
developed augmentative and alternative
communication (AAC) software program for individuals who use AAC in a workplace setting. The software represents the culmination of years of research by Dr. Higgonbotham and Dr. Wilkins, as well as by John Todman and others at the University of Dundee, Scotland. It combines an innovative means of
organizing phrases for social and situated conversation at work, as well as text-to-speech capabilities, so as to allow the augmented communicator increased efficiency in message formulation without sacrificing the precision of the message.

PUBLISHER’S CORNER

Look Who’s Writing!
David McNaughton, Ph.D. and Diane Nelson Bryen, Ph.D. collaborated on an article entitled Enhancing Participation in Employment through AAC Technologies, published in Assistive Technology (volume14, issue1).

Scheduled to appear in the Winter ‘04 issue of the Journal of Rehabilitation, is an article entitled Augmentative Communication Employment Training and Supports (ACETS): Some Employment Related Outcomes, co-written by Institute staff Diane Nelson Bryen, Ph.D, Allison Carey, Ph.D, and Kevin J. Cohen, M.S. CCC.

Disability Studies
In the next month, several staff members at the Institute on Disabilities will present their work in Disability Studies at two different conferences. Carol Marfisi will participate in a panel at the inaugural meeting of the Cultural Studies Association in Pittsburgh, on Saturday, June 7. The topic for the panel is Changing the Interpretation of Disability by the Mainstream American Culture.

In June Kevin Cohen will be presenting on the impact of Disabilities Studies(continued) social networks on the employment of augmented communicators at the next Society for Disabilities Studies (SDS) Conference in Baltimore, MD.

The Institute on Disabilities will also be delivering two papers at the annual meeting of the SDS in Bethesda, Maryland. Rosangela Boyd, Mike Dorn and Robin Levine will be presenting the paper Disability Studies Along the Continuum: Meeting Diverse Learning Needs that draws upon the experience of redesigning and teaching this year's graduate Seminar in Disabilities.

IM4Q UPDATE
The third annual IM4Q (Independent Monitoring for Equality) retreat will take place on July 9th & 10th at the Harrisburg Hilton. The retreat is for IM4Q local program staff, county staff, region and Central Office OMR staff and the IM4Q Statewide Steering Committee.

On July 31-August 1, Institute staff will present on IM4Q along with Office of Mental Retardation (OMR) staff at the 3rd Annual Reinventing Quality conference in Minneapolis, MN. The conference is sponsored by the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services and the Human Services Research Institute.

BACK TO SCHOOL

Disability Studies
Special Education 550: Disability Rights and Culture, will be offered this coming fall. Disability Rights and Culture is a required course for graduate students working towards a Certificate in Disability Studies.

ACES is coming
What is it? Two weeks of intensive instruction at Temple University's main campus, one year of follow-up instructional sessions, and ongoing technical supports. ACES (Augmentative Communication and Empowerment Supports) offers instruction by staff with experience and expertise in the use of voice output communication devices. Communication instruction will cover topics such as customizing your communication device, storage and retrieval of vocabulary, public speaking skills, using the features of your communication device, communication rate enhancement, preparing for communication situations, and using your communication device functionally within your environment. ACES also provides computer instruction, covering such topics as interfacing your communication device with any computer, backing up and transferring memory, using word processing, e-mail, and using the Internet.

Empowerment classes covering topics such as independent living, personal assistance, employment, transportation, the ADA, self-defense, and personal future planning are also offered, and are taught by members of the disability community.

When is it taking place? Classes will take place the last two weeks of July and conclude with graduation ceremonies on Friday, August 1st at 11:00 a.m. in Shusterman Hall on Temple University’s main campus.

INCLUSION

An update on Pennsylvania’s Higher Education Initiative on Inclusion – Existing to influence the formal preparation of teachers in Pennsylvania to better meet the diverse learning needs of all children in our schools. With Brian Berry as project coordinator and Trish Creegan as project assistant, on May 15 and16, the Institute on Disabilities held the Faculty Academy for Educational Change for the first year awardees of Pennsylvania’s Higher Education Initiative grants: Messiah College, Marywood University, and Slippery Rock University.

Inclusion Initiative with Hartranft Elementary School / Philadelphia School District - The month of May is Inclusive Education month at Hartranft. A series of four trainings on Differentiated Instruction for Diverse Learners will be held throughout the month. Jerry Petroff and Trish Creegan will conduct this training. The month will culminate with a school wide action planning session for next year.

INTERNATIONAL CONNECTION

From the Virgin Islands to South Africa
The work of the Institute on Disabilities is crossing national boundaries this Spring and Summer. Dr. Bryen has just returned from the University of the Virgin Islands where she, along with technical guidance from Dr. Rosangela Boyd, worked on the development of an online course on inclusive education to be co-taught with Dr. Yegin Habteyes, University of the Virgin Islands professor in collaboration with Temple University on-line technology. Dr. Bryen has also accepted an invitation from the University of Pretoria in South Africa, to lecture and lead a number of workshops around a variety of topics concerning people with disabilities.

CORPORATE RELATIONS

Way-to-go Sprint!
Carol Kann, PhD coordinated with the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University and Temple's Department for Online Learning to hold a demonstration of the new Internet based Video Relay Service (ASL relay) sponsored by SPRINT. Attending this demonstration were key administrators from Temple's College of Education, Office of Disability Services, Computing Services, Pennsylvania State government, and also individuals from the Philadelphia community. Key administrators are considering standardizing a web cam station for video relay access. SPRINT is offering free setup for individuals who already have a computer and high speed access. SPRINT will also provide a web cam free of charge.

STAFF CHANGES

A warm welcome to…
• Gautam Gupta, the Institute on Disabilities’ first Information Technology Coordinator.
• Sue Tuckerman, who has redirected her efforts to Families First and C2P2-EI (Competence and Confidence: Partners in Policymaking/ Early Intervention).

Congratulations to …

• Kevin Casey – kudos to a colleague as he assumes his new title: Deputy Secretary of the Office of Mental Retardation
• Susan Tachau – moving on but not far away… is now the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Foundation (PATF), a foundation that was founded by the Institute on Disabilities through the industrious efforts of Susan and Pennsylvania’s Initiative on Assistive Technology (PIAT) Project Director, Amy Goldman. We miss you already…
• Carol Kann – will be relocating to sunny Florida in early June. We will miss you…

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FOR INSTITUTE ALUMNI

Announcing the Alumni Network at the Institute on Disabilities
Did you know that since 1988 more than 150 students have been trained at the Institute on Disabilities? Over the summer we will be reaching out to our alumni to offer new opportunities for networking and professional development.

EVENTS

Pursuit of the Institute on Disabilities mission to work "in partnership with people with disabilities, families and allies from diverse cultures, we work to change systems so that people can live, learn, work and play in the communities of their choice," (see our website for the complete mission statement) many of our staff take their expertise on the road. Here is a glimpse of these efforts:

Kennedy Foundation Retreat
The Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Institute in collaboration with the Institute on Disabilities, the National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems, the Arc of the United States, and the National Catholic School of Social Work at Catholic University of America participated in an invitation-only one-day retreat: Promoting Awareness, Communication, and Safety: A Faith-based Reintegration Collaborative Supporting People With Disabilities in the Criminal Justice System. On April 8th in Washington, DC the participants gathered to learn, share and problem-solve around issues facing this vulnerable and often voiceless population. Principal objectives of the retreat were to increase knowledge and understanding among retreat participants of the injustice experienced by persons with disabilities and to better equip faith-based communities to implement strategic initiatives that promote new policies, practices and laws on behalf of people with disabilities when they encounter the criminal justice system.

CSUN
Representing the Institute on Disabilities at March’s CSUN conference in Northridge, CA were three members of the Institute on Disabilities’ family: Carol Kann presented on Helping Tools for Access to IT in Education, Amy Goldman, on Training Tricks of the Trade in AAC, and Kevin Cohen, on ACETs and Lessons Learned.

PA Speech and Hearing Association
Presentations at the March PA Speech and Hearing Association in Harrisburg, PA were made by:
• Amy Goldman, on AT and Infants and Toddlers
• Kevin Cohen and Emily Hurley, on Web Resources for AAC

2nd National Sexual Assault Response Team (NSART) Training Conference
Approximately 1000 law enforcement specialists, crime lab specialists, prosecutors, emergency room response teams and victim service providers attended the conference that was co-sponsored by the Institute on Disabilities and the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice, on May 22nd. The Institute’s very own Beverly Frantz presented at the conference on the topic of identifying and interviewing survivors of sexual violence with developmental disabilities.

4th Annual Partners in Justice Conference
National Academy for Equal Justice For People With Developmental Disabilities is hosting the 4th Annual Partners in Justice conference, on June 1,2 & 3rd in Philadelphia. States are invited to submit a letter of application to participate in the conference in order to enhance awareness and build capacity around issues of people with disabilities when they encounter the criminal justice system. The conference welcomes this year’s state teams: Alaska, Michigan, Mississippi, Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, Connecticut, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania. Each state will be represented by a cross-system team of people who have made a commitment to work on this issue for the next year. Keynote speakers: Bob Perske, Robert Dinerstein Esq. and Dr. Terri Pease. Also presenting are: Carolyn Morgan, Steve Dorsey, Tad Willard as well as many family members. Contact Beverly Frantz at the Institute for more information.

RESNA (Rehab Engineering and Assistive Technology Society ) Conference
Ginny DelSordo and Allison Carey will be presenting at the RESNA annual conference in Atlanta in June. RESNA is an interdisciplinary association of people with a common interest in technology and disability. The topic of their presentation is "minority outreach for alternative financing for assistive technology." Mark Friedman and Debbie Robinson will also be presenting.

Mark Freidman, Allison Carey and Debbie Robinson of the Institute, along with Yvonne Gillette and Christopher Lee, will also be presenting a workshop entitled The Potential Applications of Palmtop Computers for People with Cognitive Disabilities: Preliminary Research.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

The Institute on Disabilities is Pennsylvania’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research and Service at Temple University.
For more information about the Institute on Disabilities, or about any of the programs listed in this newsletter, contact:
The Institute on Disabilities at Temple University
1301 Cecil B. Moore Avenue
Room 423 Ritter Annex
Philadelphia, PA 19122
Tel. 215.204.1356 (voice/TTY)
Fax: 215.204.6336
http://disabilities.temple.edu
This publication is available in alternate formats, upon request.

Edited by Maureen Cannon.

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